Man poses as IAS officer on matrimonial site, cheats woman in Bengaluru of Rs 3.5 lakh

Bengaluru: A man in his 30s, claiming to be an IAS officer befriended a 42-year-old woman on a matrimonial website and cheated her of Rs 3.5 lakh on the promise of marriage. He is now threatening to upload her nudes on social media if she does not pay him another Rs 5 lakh.According to the complaint filed by Fariha (name changed), a resident of Bhuvaneshwari Nagar in Hebbal, she had created a profile on a matrimonial portal. The accused sent her an interest on May 11, 2024 and introduced himself as Nallapati Jeevan Kumar from Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh and claimed he was an IAS officer. Fariha responded to his interest, and they exchanged mobile numbers.After exchanging messages and calls for a couple of days, Kumar informed her that he was interested in marrying her. Later, he concocted a story that his mother was suffering from cancer and he was short of money for her treatment. He sought financial help from her, citing medical emergency. She transferred Rs 3.5 lakh between May 27, 2024 and Jan 18 this year through digital payment applications (DPA).Kumar managed to gain her confidence, and they made video calls during which she exposed herself. Whenever she raised the topic of marriage, he promised her that he would meet her in Bengaluru and finalise the date of marriage. He used to borrow time, citing his mother's condition.When she insisted on marriage, he started blackmailing her for ransom by threatening to upload her nudes on social media. Fariha told the police that he demanded Rs 5 lakh. When she refused to pay him and informed him she would file a complaint with the police, he issued her death threats.A senior officer said the case is registered under the Information Technology Act and BNS sections 308 (extortion), 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by impersonation), and 351 (criminal intimidation). "The accused's phone numbers provided by the complainant are switched off. We have formed a team to nab him. He was earlier arrested by Hyderabad police in 2018. He has been cheating women for at least the last eight to nine years. His target is unmarried aged women, divorcees and widows," he added.He befriends them on the promise of marriage and borrows money, citing a medical emergency for his mother. He has already cheated a few women in Bengaluru. He keeps changing his profession and educational qualifications when he targets women.

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